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Dr. Frank Walter Steinmeier (born 5 January 1956 in Detmold) is a German politician, and has been chief of staff of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder since 1999. He is member of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Political career

Steinmeier became an adviser in 1991 for law of communication media and media guidelines in the state Chancellery of Lower Saxony in Hanover. In 1993, he became director of the personal office of the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Gerhard Schröder. In 1996, he became the Undersecretary of State and Director of the State Chancellery of Lower Saxony.

Steinmeier was appointed in November 1998 as Undersecretary of State in the Office of the Federal Chancellor. He replaced Bodo Hombachs as the boss of the Office of the Federal Chancellor in 1999.

On 13 October, 2005 it was announced that he would become the new Foreign Minister of Germany in the cabinet of future Chancellor Angela Merkel. Unlike many of his predecessors, Steinmeier will not hold the position of Vice-Chancellor, which is given to SPD chairman Franz Müntefering. Steinmeier is the first SPD Foreign Minister since Helmut Schmidt in 1982.

External links

• Template:De icon Werner A. Perger: Dr. Makellos. 2000
• Template:De icon Hans-Peter Schütz: Frank Walter Steinmeier: Der Kanzler-Flüsterer. 2005

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• 1956 births
• German people
• German politicians
• Members of the German Bundestag